Today, 4 August 2013, the Patriarch of Romania celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” – Caraiman, on a podium specially arranged in the monastery yard, in Busteni locality. Besides His Beatitude, His Grace Galaction, Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman, His Grace Timotei, Bishop of Spain and Portugal, as well as a group of priests and deacons were also present.
In the sermon delivered, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel referred to the spiritual teaching of the Evangelical Pericope read within the Divine Liturgy, saying: “First of all we learn from the Gospel of the day that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, knows the personal life of every human being, namely both the deeds known by the other people, and those unknown. Secondly, the Gospel shows us that Jesus Christ, our Saviour, has the power to forgive the sins and to heal any disease and helplessness of the people who come to Him with faith and much hope. Thirdly, we see that there is a relationship between the sin and disease which are not always present in the life of all the sick, but in the case of many sick the disease of the body is a result of the disease of the soul called sin, as the Ecumenical Synod VI defined it. We learn from the Gospel that Christ, the Lord, first forgives the sins of the sick man and then heals his paralyses.
Everybody knew that the paralysed man was sick, but nobody knew that his disease was caused by his sins committed before, the Patriarch of Romania said, also showing: “Christ, the Lord, does not say what his sins are, does not reveal the secret of the man’s sins, neither their nature, nor when, where and how they were committed, but He only notices that the serious sufferance caused by disease as a result of the sins brought much repentance to this man, so that the great repentance strengthened his faith that only Jesus of Nazareth could heal him. He must have tried many doctors or remedies known in his time, but yet, he was not healed because he needed to heal his soul from the sin disease”.
His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel has also shown that the healing of the paralysed man shows us the importance of his faith and repentance: “Christ, our Lord, calls the paralysed man son, because He has seen his faith cultivated through sufferance and his repentance too. Because He saw the man was suffering and repenting, He did no longer reproved him, did not humiliate him telling the people what sins he had committed, but raised him up, and spiritually adopted him with the words: “Dare son, your sins are forgiven”. This is God-the-Father’s love manifested through His Son. Here we see Jesus, the Father Confessor, who forgives the sins and the Doctor who heals the disease of the sick one caused by his sins. Christ is discreet and does not humiliate those humiliated by disease and sufferance, trouble and trial, but gives hope to those in distress, raises up the fallen ones and brings them to the love of God-the-Father, namely those who repent and come to Him with strong faith. Here we see what attitude the Church should have towards the sinful people. Christ, the Lord, does not judge the sinful one who repents, but is glad because he comes back to God and asks for healing”. The Patriarch of Romania emphasised the fact that today’s Gospel shows us how big the mystery of forgiving sins is: “Christ, the Lord, shows us that the forgiveness of sins is a work for healing the man. He heals the paralysed man releasing him from a tight binding, from an oppressive past, from a dark existence and often painful, and makes him a new man. The forgiven man is a new man who has the joy of forgiveness and the power to begin a new way in life. The history of Christianity as well as the Holy Scriptures is full of converted people, of humans who change their life, so that a lot of ruffians have become saints through repentance. A lot of people who committed serious sins changed their lives and reached holiness through much repentance. Therefore, the merciful love of Christ the Father Confessor and Doctor heals, raises, recuperates and gives back man’s dignity when this one is humiliated by sin, sufferance or heard trials.
“These people who carry the paralysed man on a stretcher or on a bed represent the entire Church in her state of prayer for the sick, suffering, either in their own homes or in hospitals. The prayers for the sick, for the enslaved ones, for those in distress are the permanent prayers of the Church, so that many sick people are healed especially through the prayers of the Church. This is why in Romania there are chapels in almost all hospitals and priests of charity who pray for the healing of the sick together with the sick themselves or with those who come to visit them in the hospital. This is why today we remember all the boons that this Gospel text and other ones too brought about through the setting up of medical consulting rooms or hospitals, and pharmacies. The entire work of the Church, ever since its beginning, is inspired by the merciful love of Christ, the Father Confessor and Doctor, Healer and Saviour”, His Beatitude also showed.
To end with his speech, His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel urged to help the sick through prayer, examination and good deeds: “Today we think of those who take care of the sick, who have a very strong patience cultivated through merciful love. There are people who have been lying in bed for tens of years, and those who take care of them are seen by Christ as a manifestation of the merciful love for the sick. Thus, today’s Gospel shows us that the merciful love of Christ is often shown through those who take care of the sick and help them, either being by their side or helping them with clothes, food, or medicine. Therefore, we all must pray for the sick, visit them, help them according to our abilities and become the hands of Christ for them, who shows us through His Gospel that wherever it is strong faith the hope of healing can come too”.
To end with the religious service, father David Petrovici, abbot of the Monastery of the “Exaltation of the Holy Cross” – Caraiman was licensed as archimandrite by His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel.
The Patriarch of Romania offered small crosses to those present as a sign of appreciation, and several books of liturgical, spiritual and pastoral utility for Caraiman Monastery.
